“I don’t think my idea of what would hurt Frankie and your idea of what would hurt her are the same things. You might feel like sex before she’s grown and in a committed relationship wouldn’t hurt her but I’d beg to differ.”
“Hey, you’ll never know,” she said tossing my own words back at me. “I’d never let her put herself or anyone else in danger. I do want her to be able to trust me though. If she thinks I’ll run back to tell you everything, she’ll hide things so even I can’t see them. Then I wouldn’t be able to let you know if she was actually doing something dangerous.”
“I’ll let you have your privacy with her but if you know she’s thinking about having sex before she’s eighteen, you’ll tell me. That’s the deal.” I watched her hands turn to fists at her side. She scrunched her face into a frown then rolled her eyes.
“Okay. Deal.”
“Good because I’d like to offer you the job. You’ve impressed me. I like what I see.”
I could have left off the part about liking what I saw but I had to let that small truth out. I definitely liked what I saw. I just had to avoid it at all costs.
…
SEVEN
After Mr. Freeman told me I was hired as Frankie’s nanny for the month, I thought I’d feel relieved because I’d get a weekly paycheck. Instead, I was ecstatic that I’d get to hang out with Frankie every day. Seeing Mr. Freeman wasn’t bad either. He was nice eye candy. When I met with him and Navy to get paperwork, I found my eyes stroking his broad shoulders and hard chest. I hoped neither one of them noticed.
“Okay, Xari you need to sign here on the NDA. This is a non-disclosure act stating you won’t talk openly about, publish, record, promote, or otherwise speak about what happens under Senator Freeman’s roof or in his personal life.”
“Not even to you?” I asked, smirking at my sister.
“Not even to me.” Navy continued going over the terms of the NDA while Mr. Freeman looked like he would pop a blood vessel or something. Hiring me was bothering him. I’d have to get him to relax again. When I saw him drink a glass of whiskey, I knew there was more to him than met the eye. He dressed with style and drank with it too. I wanted to dig deeper.
Hell, if I was going to be working with the man and living with him, I might as well get to know him. We didn’t have to be friends but it’s always a good idea to learn people you’ll spend a great deal of time with.
I signed the NDA because what choice did I have? I needed the paycheck. I was desperate to start making money so I could stand on my own two feet. The money my parents left in my account was dwindling and bills were piling up.
I signed every paper put in front of me. By the time I was done, I had a place to stay, a car, plus free groceries and utilities. In turn, I’d get paid $1,000 every week. All I had to do was pay my bills with the money. I was finally free and independent. Good. I was tired of getting sarcasm from my parents every time I talked to them.
“Welcome, Miss Lucas. I’m tentatively glad to have you on board for the next month.” Mr. Freeman shook my hand. When I looked down at his bright, shining cufflinks, I noticed an inky tip peeking from under his sleeve.
Tattoos? On the senator? Interesting.
“You’re expected to be moved in by next week so we can get Frankie acclimated to her new schedule and work out any kinks.”
“Do you have a lot of kinks, Mr. Freeman?” I quizzed, looking up at him. I liked watching him get flustered with me. I was already in there for at least one month so it wasn’t like he could fire me.
“Xari,” Navy scolded under her breath. A smile stretched across my face at how flushed Mr. Freeman got. He adjusted the knot in his tie even though there was nothing wrong with it. It was, as usual, a perfect Windsor knot that looked like it was secured by the fingers of God.
“What? I’m just playing. I’m sure Mr. Freeman has zero kinks.” I rolled my eyes at my sister and looked from her to Mr. Freeman.
“What the heck have I gotten myself into for the next month?”
“What the heck, indeed,” I laughed. “Who says heck though?”
“I do,” he frowned.
“I know what kind of words you really want to use, Mr. Freeman,” I teased, leaning over his desk. His dutiful cocoa eyes fixed on mine and refused to take a trip down my cleavage. I had it on display too. My floral Chloe wrap dress took a plunge. I made sure it was tasteful but no man in his right mind would ignore my tits.
“Anyway,” he huffed. “I know Frankie will be over the moon.”
“I can’t wait to pick her up from school.” I stood up from the desk and looked at Navy. I had to go shopping with her soon. She was getting stuck in an all-black rut and it wasn’t doing her any favors. The black pencil skirt and black blouse she wore was so plain it was giving me a headache.
Navy was much curvier than me. She had a body most of these girls on Instagram paid top dollar for. It was always hit or miss with her flaunting it the way she should have though. Some days she nailed it with skirts and dresses that cinched her small waist and accentuated her full hips and breasts but other days she looked like she got dressed in the dark. Not everyone could ooze style and luxury like me but if people were going to know we were sisters, she needed to at least dress like it.
“I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen you so happy, Xari.” Nave smoothed my dress at the shoulders.
“I am happy, huh?” I tossed my arm around her and smiled. Even though Navy and I were the same height, I shot over her head a little in the heels I had on. Mr. Freeman’s eye dropped to my shoes then traveled up my legs leaving behind unavoidable heat. “I can’t believe I actually like a twelve-year-old. Frankie is the coolest kid I’ve ever met, to be honest.”
“She is pretty awesome,” Mr. Freeman smiled while looking at his daughter’s picture on the desk. “So, Miss Lucas, I need you to head home and get things ready for Frankie. I’d also like to see the schedule for the week and then the month, which should include all meals you plan to cook so I can budget accordingly.”
Navy gave us a polite smile before heading back to her desk, leaving me alone with her boss. Well, he was our boss now. I smoothed a strand of hair back into my puff and moved closer to Mr. Freeman’s desk.
“Hey, um…do you think you could teach me how to do that?” I asked, keeping my voice down.
“Teach you how to do what, Miss Lucas? I wouldn’t have thought there’d be a thing you didn’t know how to do given your impressive academics throughout school.”
“Can you teach me how to set up a budget? My parents had me set up mock budgets before so the concept isn’t missed on me.”
“Then what’s the problem?” He gave me his undivided attention. His brown eyes held onto mine without faltering once. Trustworthiness dripped from him.
“Following said budget.” I sat on the corner of his desk and he still made sure to keep his stare on mine. Why did I crave his deviation so strongly? I willed him to look at my body. Look at my chest or my lips even. He was locked on my eyes though. No matter how much temptation was in front of him.